We embarked at Chongqing. A warning: One does not know in advance where the boat will be docked. In our case the boat was at one of the farther piers and it was difficult to figure out where to go, since there wasn't much signage in English. Also: You check in on the boat itself. This information was in the directions sent, but we were stopped on the floating pier entrance because they wanted us to have the cruise identification card to enter, but we had to get to the boat first to get it. We wound up following someone who seemed to be going the right way. This may have been a communication problem on the part of the people doing security for the pier. Even on the ship they wanted us to wait instead of leaving our luggage and going off to explore and find a meal, even though there were several hours available to us. We spent a few hours just waiting when we could have explored Chongqing a bit more.Another point for those considering this cruise: Your taxi will not take you all the way to your pier. The let you off at the entrance to the docks. We did not hire a porter to help us with our luggage from the docks entrance to the pier. I was traveling with my son who is quite fit and could handle our luggage. If I had been traveling alone I would have wanted help for that distance, and the steps down to the river level. However, I would not have been comfortable negotiating with the porters on my own with my limited Chinese. If the boat had been at one of the closer piers I wouldn't have needed help, so it is worth familiarizing yourself with the layout of the docks, so that when you learn which pier your boat is at you can decide if you need help with your luggage.Once we were on board the cruise was nice. Boat: in general they kept the boat clean and it was in reasonable condition, although somewhat worn in places.Staff: The cruise directors were very helpful and came to the English speaking table to make sure we understood what was going on. Their language skills were very good. Meals: The buffets for breakfasts and lunches were adequate. I appreciated that the dinners were not buffets. Having sit down dinners was nice after a day of sight seeing. We had a drinks package, without that the coffee is either instant or charged. Also, there is a limited amount of bottled water included with one's room. The drinks package allowed us to get extra bottles (nice to have for those walking tours).Being eager to see as much as we could of China, we went on all of the shore excursions, those included and the extras. We enjoyed all of them. A word of warning: Some of our fellow travelers found the amount of walking more strenuous than they expected or could handle comfortably. I would highly recommend bringing sturdy, comfortable footwear since all of the outings, except for Shennong Stream, included quite a bit of walking, mostly on hills. The shore excursions are worth the effort since they let you see some of the temples of the region close up. We particularly enjoyed the White Emperor City. Another favorite experience was on our Shennong Stream excursion; our guide, Cherry, was a member of one of the ethnic tribes from the area, as was one of the boatmen. They extemporaneously started to sing some of the songs from the local area. It felt like we were gliding through a Chinese painting. Another thing to be aware of: because of annual maintenance, in April the boats do not pass through the five step locks of the Three Gorges dam and cruise through the Xiling Gorge. This was a disappointment.Instead the boats dock at Maoping and you are bused to Three Gorges Dam for a tour then from there to Yichang. At Maoping, once again we did not use porters, but several of our fellow travelers did, and our bus was delayed from departing because of a mix up about paying them. The porters were arranged ahead of time by the boat personnel and the agreed amount had been paid, as it turned out in the end more than the agreed amount had been paid. Some porters claimed that they had not been paid. There was a good bit of confusion and the President line staff did not advocate for the passengers. This is an area that they should smooth out: when the ship arranges for the porters they need to take the payment and make sure that it gets to the right people. It was sad to have a negative experience at the end of what had been a nice trip.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
Yangtze.com was one of the first companies to provide an online booking service for Yangtze River cruises. Our domain Yangtze.com was registered on 1st Jan, 1996, which is 20 months before Google.com was registered.
Why book your Yangtze River cruise with us? We are located at the heart of the cruise lines operation and work directly with key operators. By booking with us you are by-passing any middle-man. We have physically inspected EVERY major Yangtze Cruise Ship personally. We can give you unbiased views and timely on-site information.
We work with all Yangtze River cruises from top-end Viking River cruises to local cruise lines. And actually our parent company is the operator of President Cruises – a fleet of four moderate ships. We service clients from all-over the world. Despite time and need differences, we are always on hand to respond to your telephone calls and emails in a timely manner. We employ international experienced, well traveled native English-speaking staff. We do this so we can enhance communication with our international clients.
We provide multiple payment options and can accept all major credit-cards. We endorse a strict privacy policy ensuring that your delicate data is not shared or used for any other purpose than it was intended. We provide full turnkey service from the minute you contact us right up to the time that you board the plane back home. We encourage feedback both negative and positive from our clients. We are passionate about customer service and strive for constant improvement.See more
